The Trump administration and state policymakers should ease regulations on utilities
The United States holds a commanding lead in data-center capacity, hosting 37% of the world’s facilities, and being home to the largest data center providers – Amazon.com (AMZN,) Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG). These data centers are more than just infrastructure; they are the backbone of artificial intelligence (AI), driving innovations from personalized healthcare to automated supply chains. They are also a critical engine of the U.S. economy, generating 3.5 million jobs and contributing $2.1 trillion to the nation’s GDP between 2017 and 2021.
Continuing this success depends on a crucial factor: electricity.
Data centers are energy-intensive, with their power demand potentially doubling U.S. electricity consumption within the next decade, according to one study. This rapid growth comes with significant challenges for the U.S. electricity grid. Without decisive action, this surge in demand could lead to significant challenges for the grid, including congestion, higher costs, and reduced reliability, threatening America’s competitive edge not just in AI, but in all industries.
Read more in Morningstar here.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
